Missing
by Paxillion
Summary: Lance gets in a fight with Wanda and decides to stay at the X-mansion. The New Mutants start to disappear and Lance is given full responsibility. Will Kitty, Rogue, and Lance be able to find the real culprit before things get out of hand? Now CH.7 is up!
1. The Fight, The Resist, and The Talk

  
  
  
  
  
  


"Just leave me alone Wanda," Lance said. Wanda always had to pick a fight with Lance over everything. She would get so hateful and it would truly hurt Lance. 

"You are such a pansy," Wanda snickered. "I'm surprised Kitty is even going out with you." 

"Leave her out of this!" Lance shouted. 

"Aww.." Wanda did a sarcastic sigh. "Lance loves her but too bad she won't spread for you!" Wanda laughed hysterically. 

"Wanda!" Lance screamed. He slapped her across the face. Wanda let out a yelp of surprise and then a low growl of anger. 

"You asshole," she hissed. "At leaset I didn't kill all of my closest friends." Lance stopped in his tracks. Before he ever met Kitty at school, his power manifested at a party. His powers levelled the house killing all inside, including his closest friends. He never told anyone about it. 

"I'm leaving," he said quietly. 

"Suit yourself," said Wanda. Lance took his keys and his coat and went to his Jeep. He looked at his watch. 1 AM. He was about to get into the Jeep when Todd erupted out of the house via the front door. 

"Lance!" He called. "Don't go!" Lance stopped. "Listen, I heard it all. I know Wanda is a bitch but you can't leave. Trust me, I know." 

"Why?" He said, back facing Todd. "Give me one good reason." There was silence for about a minute. 

"Because," Todd finally said. "I don't want you to. I know you must think I'm annoying and I smell but Lnace, you were the only one who seemed to care about me. I;ve never felt cared about before I met you." Lance turned around to face his friend. 

"I'm sorry Toad," he said. "I can't stay here anymore." Todd nodded sadly and began to turn back towards the house. He stopped and then ran up to Lance and gave him a hug. The hug shocked Lance and then he gave in. Todd's body began to shake. Lance realized that Todd was crying. 

"I'm sorry Toad," He whispered.   
  
  
  


Kitty groaned as the phone rang. She rolled over in her bed and clutched the ringing monstrosity. 

"Hello?" She answered groggily. 

"Kitty, It's Lance," He croaked. 

"Jesus Lance," She said with a little more energy. "It's one thirty in the morning." 

"I know," he sniffed. 

"Lance?" Kitty noticed the sniffle. "Are you ok? Where are you?" 

"Outside of the mansion gates," was the reply. 

"Really?" She had a hint of excitement in her voice. It suddenly went away. "I'll be there in five." 

Kitty hung up the phone and got out of her bed, careful to not wake Rogue. She threw on a pink shirt and some white sweatpants. She phased through her bedroom door and phased out of the mansion's door. She knew Lance couldn't come inside the gates without setting off the alarm so she phased through the gates to meet him. 

"What's up?" She greeted. He gave her a hug and a kiss which Kitty didn't object to. "What's wrong?" 

"I got in a fight with Wanda," He sighed. 

"That bad huh?" Kitty snorted. 

"Yep," He heaved another sigh. "Kitty, can I aske you something?" 

"Sure, go ahead," She said. 

"Can I stay here at the mansion?" He asked. "I don't want to become an X-man, I don't really want to be anything right now." 

"I guess you can. I mean, I wouldn't mind at all," She smiled. "But you know how the others will react, minus Rogue. Scott still thinks you're a bad person even though he was mistaken last time. Also, the professor is gone as well, so is Logan. We'll have to convince Ororo. That'll be easy though. I hope" 

"Whatever," He rolled his eyes in disgust. "They can think whatever they want." 

"Ok," sighed Kitty. She gave Lance a kiss. "Once I open this gate and you step foot inside, the silent alarm will go off and they will all be down in the foyer." 

"You people are way too high-tech," He said. 

"Tell me about it, I have to enter more codes to get toilet paper than a person trying to get into Area 51," She rolled her eyes. Lance laughed out loud. He grabbed Kitty and kissed her. It was a deep kiss. Kitty let herself mold into Lance as she wrapped her hand around. She didn't want it to end. 

"I love you Kitty," he whispered. 

"I love you too," she whispered back. She entered the code for the gate. "This is about to get annoying Lance." 


	2. Debate Hour

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Kitty sat on the couch with the most horrid look on her face. She was annoyed. She was ashamed. She was angry. And worst of all, she was tired. The X-men were all down there minus Logan, the professor, and Hank. Ororo stood in the corner watching as Scott, the field leader of the team, argued his point across. Kitty wasn't in the mood of a debate hour. In fact, she was never in the mood of debate, but that's what the X-men always seemed to do. It was supposed to be healthy. Right now, Kitty felt as if it was hazardous to her sanity. They had been going on for a good thirty minutes. Lance was right next to Kitty with his arm around her. Rogue sat on the couch next to Lance with the same horrid look of annoyance, anger, shame, and exhaustion. Kurt was across the room glaring at Lance's arm around Kitty. 

"We can't trust him," Scott said stubbornly. 

"Besides, he's from the side where my archenemy is from," Evan added. Rogue snorted in disgust. 

"You have something to say Rogue?" Evan snapped. 

"Other than this is pathetic?" Rogue commented. 

"I trust Lance and we have no proof that he'll do anything wrong," Kitty stood up for herself. 

"You're only saying that because he's your boyfriend," Jean interjected as she flipped her hair. 

"As if you hadn't done that before," Kitty scoffed. Jean sent her a nasty glare. 

"Well I don't think he should stay here and that's final," Jean stood up. 

"Who died and made you king?" Rogue snarled. Jean put up her arms. 

"Obviously I am-" 

"She has a point Jean," Ororo interrupted. "I grant permission for Lance to stay in the institute." 

"But Ororo!" Scott pleaded. 

"No buts," Ororo stopped him. Everyone left the room except for Rogue, Kitty and Lance. 

"I'm sorry," Kitty apologized. Lance shrugged. 

"Ehh.. Whatever," He said. "At least there aren't that many people I'll have to deal with." 

"You've got a point," Rogue added. "I'm tired, I'm gonna got to bed." 

"So am I," said Kitty. "After I settle you into your new room."   
  


Lance got the room across from Kitty and Rogue all to himself. Kitty walked into the room with Lance as he placed his stuff on the floor. He snatched Kitty up into his arms. Kitty let out a yelp and they both fell onto his bed. Kitty go on top of him and they kissed passionately. 

"Goodnight," said Kitty. She phased through the door and started to walk across the hall. She heard a scuffle from down the hall towards the New Mutants rooms. She couldn't see because of the dark. 

"Is someone there?" She called. There wasn't any answer. It must be my imagination, Kitty thought.   
  
  
  


Bobby sat awake in his room playing his game boy with his headphones in. He looked over to his roommate, Robert, who was sound asleep. He figured he was done playing so he switched the game boy off. There was a noise outside of his door. He heard the faint voice of Kitty asking who's there. He went to the door and looked outside. He couldn't see Kitty and he assumed that she left. Bobby looked the other direction and thought he saw something. He crept down the hallway to get a better look. He felt something pierce neck and he felt dizzy. His vision began to blur and it faded to black as he fell unconscious. 

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A/N: I forgot I didn't even put one of these in my first chapter. Thanks X-girl for reviewing. It made me feel special. Um... I don't own X-men and yeah.. I don't what else to say. Please read and review!   
  
  
  



	3. The First One is Gone

A/N: Thanks Spadde and DragonBlond() for the reviews. I really like writing this story. 

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Roberto woke up and noticed that Bobby wasn't in his bed. He looked at his clock. 6:30 am. 

"Great," he muttered. "I'm late." He trudged over to the bathroom and tripped over something. Wincing in pain, he looked at whatever he tripped over. It was a gameboy. Roberto picked it up and noticed that it was broken. Hmm, he thought. Bobby will be upset when he finds this. Roberto got dressed and cleaned and opened his door to the hall. Rahne Sinclair was just turning the corner. 

"Oh hey!" She exclaimed. "I was just coming down here to wake you and Bobby up." 

"I thought Bobby was already down there," he said. "He's not in here." 

"Really?" She asked. "He's not at the breakfast table either." Rahne morphed herself into a wold and sniffed around the room. 

"Do you smell anything?" Roberto asked. 

"That's odd," she noted morphing back into her normal self. "His scent just disappears right here." She stood about two feet from the door.   
  


Lance walked out of his room with Kitty while heading down to breakfast. Roberto and Rahne were engrossed in their conversation so Kitty proceeded down the stairs with Lance. As Lance entered the main dining room, Rogue greeted him. 

"Good morning Lancey," Rogue mocked as she batted her eyes. The rest of the team gave him nasty looks or ignored him. There were two empty seats next to Rogue. Kitty and Lance took them. 

"Professor!" Rahne called. 

"Yes Rahne, what is it?" He asked. 

"I can't find Bobby, his scent just disappears two feet in front of his door," She explained. 

"That's odd," he commented. The professor placed his fingers on his temples and administered a telepathic scan of the mansion. "I can't find him. If you would excuse me, I'm going to use Cerebro. Let's just hope he has used his powers." Rahne, Roberto, and the professor all left the room. 

"Why'd you do it Lance?" Scott snapped. 

"What?" Kitty said horrified. "Why are you so quick to aim the blame?" 

"Why would I do something like that?" Scott retorded. 

"She never said you did genius," Lance interjected. 

"Shut up, this doesn't include you!" Scott snarled. 

"What? So it doesn't include me but you're accusing me?" Lance shouted outrage. "Why are you getting defensive anyway? How do we know that you didn't do it?" A slight smile spread across Rogue's face. Scott slammed his fists down on the table. 

"Lance you little--" 

"ENOUGH!" Logan shouted. Logan's shout made everyone jump. Kitty looked at Scott with an ashamed look. She got up and left the table. Jean got up to go after. 

"Trust me," she told Scott. "I'm a girl, I can talk to her." 

Kitty was fuming. She stormed around every corner ignoring everything and anything. Jubilee dodged as Kitty was marching up the stairs. Jubilee started to walk down the stairs again but was soon shoved out of the way by Jean. 

"Kitty!" Jean called. 

"What!" Kitty snarled. Jean was taken back by Kitty's tone. 

"I want to talk to you," 

"About what Jean?" Kitty snapped. "There's nothing to talk about. What sweet people you are, treating a guest with the upmost respect." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. 

"Scott is just having a b-" 

"Bad day? Don't give me that crap Jean. You did it too. I saw you giving Lance and I nasty glares. Weren't you the one who was telling me to give people a chance? Maybe you should do the same and stop being such a superficial bitch." Kitty's outburst was chalk full of venom. Before Jean could say anything else, Kitty phased through her door. Kitty opened the door and slammed it hard to emphasize the fact that she was angry.   
  


"I apologize but I have to applaud for that wonderful display of teamwork," Rogue said sarcastically. Her comment caused a laugh to erupt from Lance's mouth. 

"Whatever," said Scott. Lance got up to go check on Kitty. 

"Scott, all I'm trying to say is to give the guy a chance," Rogue advised. "You know, he might not have done anything to Bobby. Bobby might just be playing a practical joke." Scott shifted in his chair as if in response.   
  


Lance knocked on Kitty's door. There was a crash and loud scream from inside. He heard another crash and finally Kitty's voice. 

"Who is it!" Kitty shouted. 

"Me," said Lance. He waited for a second and then Kitty's hand went through to door and phased him into the room. 

"Hi," she said. 

"Hey," was his reply. "Are you ok?" 

"Do I look ok?" Kitty shot. "I'm so tired of them treating you this way. It's like you're not even a human. They are so stubborn and don't want to trust you just because you're from the brotherhood. I just wish they weren't acting so fucking stu-" Kitty stopped herself. "Did I just say fuck?" 

"Yes you did," said Lance smiling. 

"I'm sorry," She apologized. "I'm just angry." 

"There's no need to apologize," He said. He grabbed Kitty closer and kissed her.   
  


*CRASH!*   
  


Kitty yelped in surprise. The sound came from outside of their door. 

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow," a voice said. Kitty opened the door and saw about five Jaimes on the ground. They got up and all of his replicas disappeared. 

"Are you ok?" Kitty asked. 

"Yeah," he said. "I'm sorry." Before Kitty could say anything more, Jubilee's angry battle cry reverberated through out the mansion. 

"JAIME!" She screamed. "GET BACK HERE NOW YOU WORTHLESS CHILD!" 

"Gotta go!" Jaime said and he zipped out of sight. Jubilee came around the corner and Kitty pointed to the direction he went into.   
  


Jaime ran for his life. He turned the corner and ran into the study. No one was ever in the study in the morning. He heard Jubilee run by and completely miss the study. 

"JAIME!" She cried again. "I AM SO GOING TO KILL YOU!" All this over the tiny stain I got on her jacket? Jaime thought to himself. Jaime turned around to be face to face with a dark figure. He gasped as he felt something being placed over his mouth a nose. He began to feel dizzy. His head was pounding and vision was becoming more blurry. There was a sharp pain in the back of his head and Jaime was out.   
  
  
  


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A/N: Hey what did you think? Please Read and Review!   
  
  
  



	4. Debate Hour 2

  
  
  
  


A/N: Hey you all! I'm sorry for taking so long to update but my computer had serious problems so we had to get the whole thing wiped. Thanks for all that reviewed. I have two chapters already written and I'm working on the sixth one as well. Well.. Here is chapter four! 

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This is so juvenile, though Kitty as she sat through another pointless debate session. She rested her head in her hand on the couch. 

"The situation screams Lance," said Jean. Kitty rolled her eyes. 

"Yeah, he wasn't in his room when Jamie disappeared," Scott added. 

"Because he was with me!" Kitty interjected. Her sudden anger startled everyone in the room. Jean threw up her hands and opened her mouth. 

"So-" 

"So what?" Kitty interrupted. "This is serious! People are missing! What we need to do is search for the missing kinds and find where there are." Jean threw up her hands again. 

"Well I already know who-" 

"Shut up Jean," said Rogue. "She's right, besides this is lamer than watching you take twelve years to brush your hair." Rogue got up and left the room with Kitty following.   
  


"The nerve of her!" Kitty screeched as she caught up with Rogue. Rogue couldn't help but laugh at the brown haired mutant. 

"Yeah, Jean just thinks that she is always the right one," Rogue agreed. 

"I'm going to find out what happened to them," Kitty declared. 

"Are you sure? All by yourself?" Rogue asked. 

"Well no.." Kitty said nervously. "I thought you would help." 

"What?" Rogue protested. "Whatever gave you that idea?" 

"Please!" Kitty pleaded. 

"No." 

"Why?" 

"Because." 

"Because why?" 

"Because I don't want to." 

"But you'll get to prove Jean wrong." 

"Ok. I'm in." Kitty squealed with joy and frolicked over to Lance's room to ask him to help her.   
  


That night, Rogue woke up in a sweat. She looked over to her roommate Kitty and saw her sound asleep. I wish I was her, thought Rogue. She then looked at the clock, it was 1:30 am Lance agreed to help Kitty to investigate the missing mutants but they weren't going to do any real investigating until the next day. 

Rogue got up and went down to the kitchen to get a glass of milk. Feeling lazy, she drank straight from the carton. 

"What are you doing?" Said a voice. Rogue stopped drinking and set the carton down. She looked at the owner and rolled her eyes. It was Roberto. 

"What are you doing?" He repeated. 

"Something," said Rogue. She was not in the mood to deal with his cockiness. 

"Clean people like me don't do things like that," he said overconfident. 

"Are you calling me unclean?" Rogue demanded. 

"In a way, yes," he replied. Rogue rolled her eyes and left the kitchen. She turned the corner and bumped into a big figure. 

"Logan," She whined. "I'm so sick of this." Rogue couldn't make out the face since it was so dark. 

"Logan?" She asked. There a was a fast movement and Rogue felt the gloved hand smack into her throat. It caught her off guard. He began to tighten his grip and Rogue struggled to get her gloves off. He pressed her against the wall and lifted her up. Rogue began to feel dizzy. Unable to make a noise, she flew her legs in all different directions. Her leg connected with something and the figure let Rogue go. Rogue hit the ground and took off. She let out a scream and Roberto erupted out of the kitchen. Unable to power up, he launched his arrogant self onto the figure. Rogue turned around and saw Roberto trying to stop the figure. The figure took something out of his coat and stabbed Roberto with it. Roberto went limp and collapsed on the ground. Rogue gulped and took off again. 

"Professor!" She screamed as she turned a corner. She reached his door and pounded on it. The door opened and the professor gave Rogue a questioning look. 

"Rogue?" He asked. "What is it?" 

"That guy!" She said breathless. "He attacked me and but I got free and he stabbed Roberto with something!" She looked behind her and the figure was nowhere to be seen. From down the hall, a scream was heard. Rogue backed up into the professor's room. A few moments later, Ray Crisp, Amara Aquilla, Kitty Pryde, and Lance Alvers came running to the professor. 

"Some guy with a red face took Jubilation, Rahne, Samuel and Tabitha!" Amara said, exhausted (OK, let's pretend that Tabitha never left). The professor could tell that Amara and Ray had used their powers. 

"I charged him but it did no good," explained Ray. 

"Why are you here Kitty?" Xavier asked. 

"I heard the commotion," began Kitty. "And I noticed that Rogue was gone so I phased out of room. Lance was already out there and I caught a glimpse of his red face when Amara threw a fireball at him." 

"He probably took Roberto with him as well," said Rogue. She was wide awake and sitting on the floor with her knees on her chin. 

"This matter has become serious," said Xavier.   
  


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A/N (2): I didn't like this chapter that much. I hope you like the next one.   
  



	5. The Investigation and The New Mutant Pro...

A/N: Here's the fifth chapter. I hope you enjoy it! 

Thanks for the reviews. You guys make me feel loved! 

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Rahne grunted as she was thrown into her cell with tremendous force. She rubbed her ass as she got up and met eyes with her thrower. He was a tall guy with blond hair and huge muscles. 

"Couldn't you have just walked me into the cell?" Rahne asked. 

"I'm Beef!" He yelled. "I don't do that." 

"Ok, thanks, I didn't ask for your name," said Rahne. 

"Too bad," he replied. He walked off and Rahne sat down on her bed. That guy was really stupid, though Rahne. She noticed that she was the last of the captured to be placed in her cell. There were ten cells in the room, five on each side. Rahne's cell was opposite of Samuel Guthrie's and on the end. Next to Samuel was Jubilation Lee, Bobby Drake, Roberto DaCosta, and an empty cell. Next to Rahne was Jamie Madrox, Tabitha Smith, and two other empty cells. 

"Hey Rahne!" Samuel called. 

"Hey," she replied, she was obviously unhappy. 

"Rahne?" Jamie said yawning. 

"Yeah, I'm here," she replied to Jamie who she couldn't see. "I'm going to sleep." 

"Ok," said Samuel. Rahne morphed into a wolf and curled up on the bed. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep but she was thinking too much. All of the sudden, she morphed back into her human self. 

"I have a plan!" She whispered. As she explained it to all of the captured mutants, they grew with excitement. The plan just might work. "You see, Jamie is excused from his cell to go to the bathroom and while he's in the bathroom, he creates a duplicate. His duplicate then goes back to the cell and then you Jamie, can get the spare hidden in the desk drawer." 

"That's genius Rahne!" Samuel exclaimed. 

"I could have done better," Roberto remarked. 

"Shut up Roberto," said Jubilee. 

"Rahne?" Tabitha asked. "How do you know there is a spare in there?" 

"I saw that 'Beef' guy put one in there," said Rahne. 

"But Rahne, usually when I make a duplicate, more than one appears," said Jamie. "I'm scared." 

"Wuss," said Roberto. 

"Roberto, if you open your mouth one more time, I'm going to blow you up," warned Tabitha. 

"Jamie, don't be scared," Rahne said gently. "I'm sure if you concentrate hard enough you'll be able to just get one out. I'll be wishing you good luck." 

"Yeah Jamie, I know you can do it," said Jubilee. 

"Yeah Jamie, be adventurous," said Bobby. 

"Ok.." He said nervously. 

"Good luck!" Samuel whispered. Jamie nodded and cleared his throat. 

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"Logan!" Xavier called. The fierce mutant walked up to Xavier with a cigar in his mouth. 

"Yeah?" He replied. 

"You're not allowed to smoke in Cerebro," said Xavier. Logan took his unlit cigar and placed it in his pocket. 

"So what did you want me for?" Logan asked. 

"Cerebro has located Rahne Sinclair using her powers," he told Logan. He handed Logan a packet of information he received from Cerebro. 

"What's this?" Logan inquired. 

"It's the location of an underground base located in the outskirts of New Jersey," the professor explained. "I've printed out the coordinates and a diagram of the base. It's like a maze in there. I've marked where the mutants are being held and crucial entrance and exit points. Also, I've included information on a small group of mutants named The Black Manifesto." 

"The Black Manifesto?" The adamantium-boned mutant asked. "What the hell is that?" 

"It's a group of six mutants and a leader," began the professor. "Their leader is Ogun." Logan stopped in his tracks. 

"Why the hell is he taking the New Mutants?" Logan asked, his anger rising. 

"I don't know, that's why I want you to take this mission," Xavier said. Logan accepted the mission and he was scheduled to leave in three hours. As he walked out of Cerebro, he missed the scent of Katherine Pryde, who was hiding in a dark corner. A devilish smile spread on her face as she phased through the wall. 

Logan couldn't believe that Ogun was behind this. A while back, Logan was involved with a Japanese woman of the name named Mariko Yashida. She was Logan's only true love. They were scheduled to get married until Mariko suddenly refused Logan. Much to Logan's dismay, he soon realized that Mastermind was behind Mariko's refusal. At that time, he was a student of Ogun's training in martial arts. Logan mastered the art with such grace and he became friends with Ogun until Ogun became demonic and began to possess the people close to him. He possessed Mariko and caused her to kill herself. From then on, Logan had hated Ogun with a passion. 

Logan growled at the memories of his past and headed into his room to get ready and change into his uniform.   
  


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"Um.. Excuse me Mr. Beef Dude?" Jamie called. 

"Yeah," he called back. 

"I have to go to the bathroom," said Jamie. Beef groaned and got up from his desk in the other room. 

"Jesus Christ, can't you kids go pee in your pants?" He said. Jamie gave him a disgusted look as Beef opened his cell. Beef led Jamie into the bathroom and then he went back to his desk. 

In the bathroom, Jamie did really have to go pee. After using the toilet, Jamie washed his hands in the sink. He went back into the stall and placed his finger on the place where the door met the divider of the stall. Concentrating as hard as his twelve year old brain could, he slammed the door shut on his finger. 

"OW!" He cried. He opened his eyes shaking. He looked around the stall and saw that he was alone. He looked out of the stall and noticed that there was only one duplicate of himself. 

"You go back to your cell," Jamie told his duplicate. The duplicate nodded. 

"Hey what was that ow for?" He heard Beef call. 

"Go with him!" Jamie shoved the duplicate towards the door of the bathroom and Jamie hid inside of the stall. 

"I fell," said the duplicate to Beef. The duplicate seemed very happy and obedient. Jamie expected this because each duplicate of himself has on strong trait of Jamie's and obedience was the one that this duplicate got. Jamie heard the door close and that was his cue. He opened the stall door and went over to the bathroom door. He peeked it open and saw no one at the desk. Jamie erupted out of the bathroom, opened the desk drawer and looked for the key. He found it and grasped it tightly. He heard Beef close the door and Jamie panicked. He found a dark corner near the entrance of the cell room. He hid in the shadows as Beef passed by. Jamie snuck into the cell room without making a sound. His heart was pounding. Rahne's eyes widened with excitement as Jamie came in the room with the key. He unlocked Rahne's cell and then proceeded with Samuel's, and he did this one by one until all of the captured were out. 

"How are we going to get past meatloaf?" Tabitha asked. 

"Attack him," said Roberto. 

"Poor you, there's no solar energy," said Jubilee. Roberto got angry and overconfident. 

"I could still take him down. Watch me," he said. 

"No!" Jamie tried to stop him but Roberto went out of the cell room and jumped on the unsuspecting Beef. 

"What the-?" said Beef. He took the Brazilian boy off of him and threw him into a big wall. Rahne winced at the sound of his body smacking into the wall. 

"Shit!" Jubilee cursed. "He's coming in!" Jubilee ran and hid behind Samuel. 

"We're gonna have to fight," said Tabitha. Beef came in and saw the kids out of their cells. He charged after them and they moved out of the way and went into the other room where there was more room. Rahne Sinclair, also known as Wolfsbane, morphed into her wolf form and took a big bite out of Beef's leg. He roared in anger and pain. He kicked Wolfsbane and she let out a yelp and smacked into a wall. Wolfsbane was knocked out. Beef marched over to Wolfsbane and was about to pound her when Jubilee sparked him in the eye. Beef clawed at his eyes, unable to see. Cannonball charged up and rammed himself into Beef. Beef hit the wall and some debris fell from the ceiling and landed on top of him. Boom Boom went up to him and checked to see if he was alive. 

"I can't tell," she said. Beef's eyes opened and Tabitha let out a little scream. She quickly created little explosions and threw them at him. They did little damage and Beef swung at her. Boom Boom dodged the swing and Bobby iced the ground in front of him. Beef slipped and fell on his arse. Boom Boom threw more explosions at him just for the heck of it. 

"I'm gonna send you to the frozen meat section!" Bobby declared. As he was getting ready to freeze Beef, a vine popped out of the ground and wrapped around him. Vines began to sprout up all over the room, grabbing each New Mutant. 

"What is this?" Jubilee cried, struggling. Her question was soon answered. 

"I am Ramrod," said a voice. "I can control all plant life." 

"That explains a lot," said Bobby. Ramrod used his powers to place all of the New Mutants into their cells and locked the doors. He kept the spare key to himself. 

"What is wrong with you, you idiot!" Ramrod yelled at Beef. "You let little kids outsmart you Randy?" 

"Thanks for saving me," said Beef. 

"From little children," he added. "You know, sometimes I think you are as dumb as a eight year old, but you're 18." 

"So are you," said Beef. 

"But I'm not stupid," added Ramrod.   
  


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Katherine "Kitty" Pryde, also known as Shadowcat, phased into the room of Rogue and her's. 

"Amara! What are you doing in here!" Kitty said surprised. 

"I got bored so I decided to look through your pictures," said Amara. Kitty rolled her eyes and looked over to Rogue. 

"Rogue!" She called. "Come with me! And you too Amara!" 

"Someone's a little too excited," said Rogue. Kitty grabbed Amara and Rogue and phased them into Lance's room. 

"Thanks for knocking," said Lance. Ray and Lance were working on their homework. Kitty was literally bouncing all around the room. 

"Wow," said Rogue. "Lance actually doing homework, that's a first." Lance did a fake laugh. 

"So why are you so excited?" Lance asked. 

"Come with me!" Kitty said. Ray and Lance grabbed on to Amara, Rogue, and Kitty and they all phased down to the X-jet loading area. She phased them into the blackbird and they hid in the back storage room. 

"Why are we here?" Amara asked. 

"Logan's going to go get the New Mutants and I want to help!" Kitty said excitedly. All she got were blank faces. 

"You're crazy," said Rogue. "I'm leaving." Rogue got up and was about to leave when she heard Logan open the door for the X-jet. She jumped down and hit and cursed under her breath. 

"God dammit," she cursed. "I have to go now." Logan prepped the X-jet and took off. 

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A/N (2): Wow, that was a really long chapter. I really enjoy writing this story. I hope you like it. Expect a sixth chapter soon!   
  


I want to notify you of something: "Logan couldn't believe that Ogun was behind this. A while back, Logan was involved with a Japanese woman of the name named Mariko Yashida. She was Logan's only true love. They were scheduled to get married until Mariko suddenly refused Logan. Much to Logan's dismay, he soon realized that Mastermind was behind Mariko's refusal. At that time, he was a student of Ogun's training in martial arts. Logan mastered the art with such grace and he became friends with Ogun until Ogun became demonic and began to possess the people close to him. He possessed Mariko and caused her to kill herself. From then on, Logan had hated Ogun with a passion." The whole thing about Mariko killing herself because of Ogun's possession isn't true in the comics. I made that up as well for the story. Mariko Yashida and her loving Logan and vice versa isn't made up. I just wanted to clear that up.   
  


Below is information about The Black Manifesto:   
  


I'm sure a lot of you are wondering who The Black Manifesto is and who are the people in the group. I made the group name up because I thought it was cool. These people aren't original characters, they are from the comics. The only thing made up about them is the fact that they are in a group (because most of them had nothing to do with each other) and the name of the group. A lot of their names are unknown in the comics so I made them up. Enjoy!   
  


Mutant Name: Ogun   
  


Sex: Male 

Age: I don't know, older than a teenager.   
  


Leader. Master of martial arts. Has magical abilities to brainwash individuals.   
  


Mutant Name: Roulette   
  


Name: Jennifer Stavros 

Sex: Female 

Age: 17 

Powers: The ability to change a person's luck (able to throw off Scott's uncanny ability to trigonometry, aiming is off). She focused this power by throwing gambling chips, red for good luck and black for bad luck.   
  


Mutant Name: Ruckus   
  


Name: Unknown (Made up name: Tyler Rivers) 

Sex: Male 

Age: 16 

Powers: Ruckus has the ability to amplify any sound he has heard to earth-shattering levels or barely audible whispers. He can use this power to cause matter to shatter and explode or to launch his foes in the air. He literally knock someone over with the volume his vocal chords can produce.   
  


Mutant Name: Stinger   
  


Name: Unknown (Made up name: Shannon Graves) 

Sex: Female 

Age: 15 

Powers: Bio-electric blasts emitted from her hands. Her blasts could pack a wallop if she was to be made angry (which happens a lot since her temper flares easily). She's a lot weaker than she seems to be since she can be removed easily because is a lousy fighter and has no defensive attributes at all.   
  


Mutant Name: Beef   
  


Name: Unknown (Made up name: Randy Sikes) 

Sex: Male 

Age: 18 

Powers: Super strength and stamina. Randy is pretty stupid and tends to be a bully. He can be taken advantage of easily because of his stupidity but if he wants to destroy you, watch out.   
  


Mutant Name: Rhapsody   
  


Name: Rachel Argosy 

Sex: Female 

Age: 17 

Powers: Rachel has the power to use music as a reality warping device. She carries around a violin which she plays as she levitates in mid-air. She grasps the foes using the music and causes them to stop in their tracks and hallucinate. Also, Rachel can actually use the music notes as a weapon by creating something tangible such as a rope.   
  


Mutant Name: Ramrod   
  


Name: Unknown (Made up name: Alec Connors) 

Sex: Male 

Age: 18 

Power: Ramrod has the ability to control plant matter such as trees. He is able to change its shape, allow it to grow hundreds of times faster than it's normal rate, and he is even able to shoot unnatural projections from them. He carries around a wooden staff he frequently uses as a sharp weapon.   
  



	6. Retrieving the New Mutants

A/N: I had a wonderfully written story saved on this computer and then it got deleted. BY ME! Actually the chapter I had written beforehand was total crap so I deleted the whole thing and decided to start over. I would have posted the crap chapter but ff.net wasn't working on my computer for some time and then I reread the chapter and realized that it sucked. So, I hope you like this one! 

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Logan flew the X-jet with ease. He found it a lot more peaceful to be by himself because usually there was a lot of commotion and he didn't have time to concentrate. Just then, he heard the common sound of a girl sneezing.   
  


"Jesus!" Rogue whispered. Kitty still felt the force of her anger through the whisper. 

"I'm sorry!" She replied quietly. "Something about the dust back here makes me sneeze."   
  


Logan put the X-jet in auto pilot and began to walk slowly back toward the storage area of the X-jet. He unsheathed his claws and gave the air a quick sniff.   
  


"Did you hear that?!" Amara cried. "He's gonna kill us!" The X-kids in the back pushed frantically away from the door.   
  


Logan shrank his claws back into his skin. He recognized the scent of Kitty, then Rogue. He couldn't believe they snuck back there. He opened the storage door and looked inside. There was no one in sight. 

"Aww Jesus," he said to himself. "I don't got time for this. I know you're all back here." He heard someone curse to themselves and Rogue emerged from behind a box. 

"This was all Kitty's idea," said Rogue. "She dragged me." Amara, Ray, Lance, and Kitty emerged from hiding as well. 

"Half-pint dragged you?" He said. "All of you?" 

"Uh . . . yeah," replied Lance. Logan burst into a laugh that angered Kitty. 

"Why is it funny?" She asked. "Just because you think I'm weak?" 

"No," said Logan. "Anyway, you all are going to have to come with me then." 

"We're not in trouble?" Amara asked. 

"Oh yes you are, wait until we get back to the mansion," replied Logan. Angry glares were pointed in Kitty's direction. They all knew what was in store for them back at the mansion. A grueling Danger Room session with Logan was going to take place. They all sat down in the X-jet and Logan explained to them about The Black Manifesto. 

"They're just some group of rebellious teenagers with a leader who's a little bit more powerful. You leave me to him," said Logan. 

"So it's like the brotherhood?" Rogue asked. "No offense Lance." Lance rolled his eyes which caused a giggle to escape Kitty. Logan nodded and realized that they were close to their destination. He landed the blackbird and the X-men filed out. Logan split the team up with Ray and Rogue coming with him, and Kitty, Lance, and Amara going to free the captured. 

Their 'base' was an abandoned building in desperate need of repair. The X-men walked into a big empty room. They did a quick search and found no door, no stairs, nothing. 

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Lance said. 

"Yeah, I'm sure," replied Logan. "Half-pint!" 

"Yeah?" Kitty called. 

"Check to see if there is anything below us," He ordered. Kitty nodded and phased through the floor. Kitty landed in an empty hallway. She was a bit confused about the entrance into this hallway. There was just a thick layer of concrete between the hallway and the room above. Kitty decided to do a little exploring. She walked down one end of the hall and found some stairs leading up. She looked up the stairs and saw that they led up into the ceiling. She walked up and when she didn't fit, she phased up through the ceiling. She ended up back in the room. 

"Find anything?" Rogue asked. 

"It seems that there were stairs leading down here but they were closed off by concrete," she explained. 

"I could break through it," Lance smirked. He rolled his eyes to the back of his head but Kitty stopped him. 

"No! It would be too noisy," she said. "I can phase everyone through." Lance nodded reluctantly and Kitty had everyone grab onto her. She phased them all through the ground and they ended up in the same hallway Kitty was just in. Logan told them to follow him and they did. They eventually reached a fork in the road and Logan stopped them. 

"According to this map," he said with it in his hands. "The captured are to the left and Ogun's 'lair' is to the right." Kitty, Lance, and Amara went left while Logan, Rogue, and Ray went right.   
  


"Damn!" Ogun cursed. Roulette and Ramrod looked startled. 

"What is it?" Roulette asked, combing her blond hair back. 

"They've got in," he said. He looked through the video monitor and saw a brown-haired girl phase through the ground. He let his mouth curve into an evil smile. 

"What are you thinking about?" Ramrod asked. Ogun looked up at him. 

"I've got an idea." He said. "Rhapsody, Beef, and Stinger, you take care of the three heading toward the captured. I want the Caucasian girl with the brown hair, you can release the captured kids, I've got something better to be planned." He laughed a wicked laugh. He sent Ramrod, Roulette, and Ruckus after the rest.   
  


Kitty opened her eyes in horror. She realized that the whole place was rigged with traps. Lance screamed in agony as one of the projectiles from the wall punctured his uniform and leg. He rolled his eyes to the back of his head and sent a rather large tremor throughout the hall. The trap was disabled. Kitty ran up to Lance and helped him up. 

"Can you walk?" She asked. 

"Not really," he said. Kitty helped the injured mutant continue on. 

"Amara, I want you to stand guard," Kitty ordered. "If anyone comes around, I need you to protect us." Amara nodded nervously, unsure if she was able to perform such a task.   
  


Rogue lost her balance when Lance's tremor took place. The slight discombobulation triggered a set of traps in front of them. Blades began to erupt from unnoticed slats in the wall. Rogue leaped out of the way from a blade heading her direction. Logan threw out his claws and began slicing blades that were a threat. Rogue and Ray ran through, dodging the blades as they came around. An unsuspecting blade came down and sliced Rogue's arm. She let out a yelp of pain that caused Ray to grab her. He managed to get through with her in his arms. She got up to her feet and winced at the pain. 

"Thanks.." She said. 

"No problem." Ray replied. Rogue held her wound to try and stop the blood loss. Logan finished his slicing and growled. 

"I should have known," he growled. "A place like this. It was obvious that it was rigged."   
  


Kitty was helping Lance walk on his good leg. He stopped her and then tried walking by himself. Surprisingly, he was able to walk with a limp. 

"This is all my fault," Kitty said. "I'm so sorry I dragged you and Amara into this." She sat down next to the wall and buried her face into her knees. 

"Kitty," said Lance. "It's ok. It's not your fault. You had no idea that this place was going to have traps." He gave her a hug and she threw herself onto him. 

"Uhh.. Guys?" Amara called. "I'm sorry to interrupt this romantic moment but we have company." Amara let out a scream as she was struck by a yellow blast. Kitty got up fast to aid her hit team member. Another yellow blast was emitted from a girl who looked like she fell out of the eighties. Kitty phased through it. Two other people came from the shadows in the hall. A muscled blond male and woman with light blue skin and blue hair. 

"I'm Stinger," said the girl from the eighties. "This is Beef," she pointed to the blond male, "and this is Rhapsody," she pointed to the woman. Lance let out a little laugh. 

"Beef," he snickered. This angered Beef. He clutched his fist and ran toward Lance. Lance used his power and Beef lost his balance. Stinger shook her head in shame. 

"You are such an idiot," said Stinger. "I'll do it then." She shoved her hands forward and they began to glow a bright yellow. She unleashed her bio-electric blast at Lance. It struck Lance and he let out a yelp. Amara got up holding the spot where she got hit. Rhapsody began to sing a melody and Kitty was caught. She was dazed and began to hallucinate. Amara quickly fired up and threw a fire ball at Rhapsody. Her singing stopped abruptly when she was hit. She slammed into the wall and slumped into a crouch. She was unconscious. Stinger hit Amara again with a blast and Amara screamed. She flew and was knocked unconscious right by Lance. Kitty tackled Stinger to the ground. Lance used his power and caused the ceiling to crack. Kitty noticed this and gave Stinger a sweet smile. 

"See ya!" Kitty said. Kitty launched herself off of Stinger and phased through the falling rubble. The rubble fell on Stinger and she was out. Kitty turned around to face Lance but met Beef instead. He raised his hand and smacked Kitty down the hall. Beef picked up Stinger and Rhapsody and went away from Lance and Amara. Lance tried to move to go after them but a pain shot up through his leg. He was aching all over from Stinger's blast. He turned his attention to the unconscious Amara. Her eyelashes fluttered and she was slowly coming to. 

"What happened?" She managed to ask. 

"They took Kitty!" He cried. Amara was wide awake now. 

"They did what!?" She said shocked. She got up and headed down the hall. 

"Amara!" Lance called. She stopped and looked at Lance. She realized her mistake and helped Lance up. They struggled down the hall since Amara was partially wounded as well.   
  
  
  


Rogue ripped off a piece of the fabric on her leg and wrapped it around her arm to stop the bleeding since she would need both of her hands if she was to fight. Logan suddenly stopped and sniffed the air. 

"Someone else is here," he said. 

"Who?" Ray asked. 

"I don't know," he replied. "Someone unfamiliar." Rogue felt a peculiar itch in her nose. She sneezed and it echoed throughout the hall. It became very quiet. There was a noise that sounded like it was from far away. It increased in volume and Rogue realized it was the same sound that came from her sneeze. It finally reached them except it was multiple times louder. The sound cracked the walls. The cracks began to give birth to vines that were growing at an alarming rate. All of the sounds that were being created were being played back louder. Rogue covered her ears and dodged through the thorny vines. A vine managed to grab hold of her leg. It wrapped tight and the thorns ripped through her skin. 

"Help!" She called. She clawed at the vine trying to unhook herself. Logan roared and he cut through the vines to aid Rogue. He cut the vine around Rogue's foot and she fell to the ground. He pointed to a man with long hair. His mouth was open and Rogue instantly knew he was the guy who was playing back all the sounds. Rogue nodded and Logan and she took off after him. 

Ray was dodging vines not looking behind him. He felt something hit his head. He looked at the ground and saw that it was a gambling chip. It said "BAD LUCK" on it. He looked up at the thrower and met eyes with a beautiful girl. She gave him a smile and then Ray felt sharp pain in his back. He realized something began to grind itself into Ray's back. He felt himself being raised off of the ground. Ray's anger grew. He charged up and zapped the blond hair girl. She fell to the ground and Ray tried to suppress the pain by grinding his teeth. Logan saw the vine in Ray's back and cut it. The electric mutant fell to the ground panting. Logan pulled the vine out of his back and Ray screamed in pain. 

Rogue was about to tackle the sound maker when she felt something hard hit her in the head. She fell on the ground clutching her head and looked at her attacker. She saw a rod raise up and about to pound her again. Rogue rolled out of the way as the rod smashed into the ground. Rogue flipped to her feet and began to fight the mysterious man. He swung his rod again and Rogue kicked it. She looked away as it flew from the man's grip. She finally got a good look at him. He had scraggly black hair and smelled like plants. He looked really dirty and had dark brown eyes. He looked seriously evil. The man slammed his fist into Rogue's stomach and she backed up and coughed. She dodged another punch and countered his attack. She tackled the man and placed her bare hand on his face. 

Ray didn't know what to do. He was surrounded by the growing vines and Logan was busily cutting them all up, trying to find the controller. He also was feeling dizzy because of the constant noise. All of the sudden, the vines stopped growing, shriveled up, and died. The noise also stopped. Ray saw Rogue get up off a man. 

"Nice work," said Logan. "Did you get the sound guy?" Rogue shook her head no. Logan growled in response. Ruckus came from the shadows. He replayed Logan's growl so loud that all three of them were knocked over. Ray got up, electricity flowing. He shot a spark at Ruckus. It hit Ruckus caused him to stumble backward. A dead vine strangely came back to life and wrapped around Ruckus' leg. He lifted him up and slammed him into the ground. He hit the ground with a sickening thud. Logan and Ray looked at Rogue. She shrugged and made a crooked smile. The tired and wounded X-men trudged on forward. Rogue stole a little bit of Logan's powers to heal herself. Ray managed to partially ignore his wound, but still needed help from Rogue when the pain would get too intense.   
  


Amara was literally dragging Lance down the hall until she reached a door with an electronic lock. 

"Damn," said Amara. She approached the door and saw a keyboard with a screen. 

"Are you supposed to enter a code?" Lance asked. Amara nodded as she placed Lance down. She walked toward the door. 

"Let's see.." She said. She observed that the door was made of metal. She fired up and the whole hall lit up. Lance watched in amazement. Amara pressed herself onto the door and the metal began to sizzle and melt away. Soon, an Amara-sized hole was in the door. She grabbed Lance in her human form and carried him through it. They were in the cell block. Amara walked through the doorway to where the captured were being kept. 

"Amara!" Tabitha yelled. "I am so glad to see you!" Amara dropped the injured Lance on the ground. Amara hugged Tabitha through the bars. 

"Can you stop having lesbian sex and get us out?" Roberto demanded. Tabitha glared at the Brazilian boy. 

"I'm not letting you out," demanded Amara. She turned on her heel and noticed a sparkle on the ground. 

"Oh my gosh!" Amara exclaimed. "The key!" She grabbed it and let everyone out, except Roberto. 

"Hey!" He demanded. 

"I'll let you out under one condition," she said simply. "You have to carry Lance." After a long time of arguing, Amara let Roberto out and he proceeded to carry the injured mutant. 

"Jesus, you're heavy," said Roberto.   
  


After some time, Rogue, Ray, and Logan reached a large room. There was a limited amount of light but they could tell it was some sort of arena. 

"Is it me or do you feel like something's about to happen?" Rogue asked. Ray groaned. His back was beginning to have pulsing pains. He was not in the mood to fight anymore. Logan sniffed the air viciously. 

"It smells like Half-Pint," he said. 

"Why would Kitty be here?" Rogue asked. She was soon answered. The lights brightened and they were able to see the whole arena. In the middle of the room, a trap door opened and a cage rose out of it. There seemed to be a human inside of the cage curled up. That human was Kitty. She was unconscious and was chained to the cage. Rogue ran up to the cage and placed her hands on the bar. Pain began to shoot up her arms as she let out a blood curdling scream. Her scream was amplified to an amazing force. 

Rogue's scream echoed throughout the hallways of the chasm. Amara stopped in her tracks. 

"Was that Rogue?" She asked. 

"It sounded like it," said Lance. 

"We need to help her!" Amara cried. "Bobby, is there anyway you can slide us through here faster?" Bobby nodded and began to freeze the floor of the hallway. The kids jumped on the ice slide and began to slide at an amazing speed as Bobby continued to create more of the ice slide.   
  


"Rogue!" Ray shouted. He grabbed her jolting body off of the cage as her hands began to smoke. Her scream was amplified once more. The amplified sound woke Kitty up. She sprang awake not knowing where she was. She saw Rogue and Ray on the ground with Rogue looked very drained. She saw Logan behind them. 

"Half-pint!" He called. "Get out!" She tried to phase out of the chains but it didn't work. She tried again but her powers were gone. 

"I can't get out!" She cried. She felt herself getting weaker. Seven figures entered the room on the far side behind Kitty. One of them, Logan identified as Ogun. 

"Ogun!" He growled. Rogue looked up and saw the seven mutants. Logan growled and he launched himself toward Ogun. Stinger shot a blast at Logan which knocked him back. Rhapsody began to sing and she possessed Logan, allowing him to take all sorts of beatings. Ogun stood and watched his former adversary being beaten down. 

"Ray, I have to," said Rogue. She struggled to her feet and ignored the pain in her hands. Just then, Amara and her company arrived. 

"Kitty!" Lance called as he saw her in the cage. She was barely moving she was so weak. Lance concentrated on his power and the ground split all the way up to Kitty's cage. The cage split open and Kitty was free of her chains. She felt herself growing stronger. Lance managed to stand up as Kitty ran toward him. All of the sudden Kitty stopped and her eyes began to glow red. She picked up a piece of the concrete rubble from Lance's earthquake and threw it at Lance. It hit him square in the face with tremendous force. Rogue winced at the sound of the concrete hitting Lance's face. Blood erupted from the kid's facial region. Rogue looked in horror at Kitty's hatred filled eyes. She look past Kitty saw that Ogun seemed to be controlling her. Rogue went after Ogun in rage. She jumped in the air toward him only to be knocked away by Beef. Rogue flew sideways and crashed into the ground with a horrific thud. Ray turned around at Amara. 

"We need to stop them from attacking Logan!" He called. "I'll try and distract Kitty, you try to stop them from killing Logan!" Ray turned toward Kitty with determination. He didn't like the fact of fighting his own but he had to save his teammates. 

Jubilee saw the light blue skinned mutant singing and powered up a paff in her hand. She let one sail across the room and it connected with her face. Rhapsody let out a wail and she fell to the ground, her singing abruptly stopping. Logan realized what was happening and was filled with rage. He began slicing at the attackers causing them to collapse with wounds. He finished them off and turned over to Ogun. 

Ray's hands began to electrify as the possessed Kitty ran toward him. She walked up the air over and let herself drop. She kicked him hard and Ray flew forward on his face. He flipped himself up and fired a shock at Kitty. It hit her chest sending her backward. She phased into the ground and Ray tried to locate her. Kitty phased up behind Ray with him not knowing. She tapped him on the shoulder and he whipped around. She punched him in the nose and sickening crack followed. Ray fell to the ground and Kitty kicked him hard in the ribs. The pain was way too much for him to handle and he was out. The last thing he remembered seeing was Kitty's wicked facial expression and hearing her hyenic laughter.   
  


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A/N: That was a REALLY long chapter and I know it's not that amazing but I have goodness in store for later. Thanks for the reviews! And I apologize for some character for being Out Of Character. I apologize.   
  


  
  


  
  


  
  



	7. Black Figure

A/N: Another Chapter!   
  


Har har, ok so I THOUGHT I put Chapter 7 up but I guess I didn't. Sorry about that. 

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Professor Charles Xavier sat in his wheelchair in his office. He faced the window and looked outside to the mansion's front yard. It had been a week since the New Mutants were retrieved and Kitty was taken. Ogun had vanished without a trace and Professor Xavier was unable to locate Kitty or anyone involved in The Black Manifesto. Rogue and Ray were mostly recovered from their injuries. Lance had recovered but he left the institute to go back with the brotherhood house. Charles thought, or more so, knew it was because of Kitty's kidnaping. Lance loved the girl more than anything else and in anger and hostility, he left the X-men the day after they returned. 

"Charles?" Hank's voice brought him back to reality. 

"Oh, Hank," said the professor. 

"You called?" The big blue mutant replied. "Are you ok?" 

"I don't know," Xavier said. He motioned for Hank McCoy to sit down in a chair. Charles wheeled to close the door. There was a moment of silence as Charles thought. 

"I feel like it's all my fault," said Charles. "I knew that Ogun was able to possess people and when they were possessed they became stronger. I knew they weren't ready for that but I still made no action to prevent them from going." Charles wasn't really staring at Hank. He wasn't really staring at anything. 

"Charles, it's not all of your fault. They did defend themselves remarkably well," Dr. McCoy noted. "Look at Amara. She really showed off her leadership skills and her excellent control of her powers. Rogue, Ray, Lance, and Amara both showed that they were able to use their powers to their extent. Yes, some of them were injured but we have to expect that. Ogun's mind control abilities are far too advanced for anyone except for you and maybe Jean. Katherine had no control. Nobody knew the power Ogun had in store, not even you." 

"You're right," Charles replied after a momentary silence. 

"You've trained them well," said Hank. Hank got up and walked out of the room, leaving The Professor to think by himself.   
  


"The room feels so empty without her," she said emphatically, sitting on the mansion's grand staircase. Kurt, her friend and her newfound foster-brother patted her back trying to comfort her. 

"Don't worry Rogue. I'm sure The Professor is working very hard at trying to find her." He said. He turned away and whispered to himself. "Gott weiß nur, wieviel sie zu mir bedeutet." 

"What was that?" Rogue asked. 

"Uh.. Nothing," Kurt said, brushing it off. "Come on, we have school tomorrow, we should go to bed." Rogue looked at him and managed to smile. 

"Ok," she said. "Kurt?" 

"Yeah?" He stopped and looked at Rogue. 

"I know I haven't seemed exactly thrilled that you are my brother but I actually am glad you're my sibling," she replied. Kurt smiled, letting his fangs show. He noticed that this was the first time Rogue ever called him brother. Usually, it was 'foster-brother' not 'brother.' It meant a lot to him even though he knew Rogue wasn't his blood-related sister. The two mutants trotted up the mansion stairs and into their rooms. 

Ever since Kitty's kidnaping, things in the mansion had been going quite rough. Everyone looked upset and acted upset. Scott was washing his car, a thing he did whenever he had a lot of baggage to deal with. He clutched the sponge and let the soapy water run down the red exterior of his car. He remembered after their unsuccessful attempt to get Rogue to join them, sitting in the car with everyone and telling Kitty that she was an X-men, and they always did things together. He remembered the countless number of times he had her help him with his trigonometry homework. He always marveled at her intelligence. 

"Oh Kitty," he whispered to himself. He moved the sponge up to the window and began to wipe the already spotless glass. His ears were soon filled with the voice he recognized as Jean's. 

"Scott," she said. "You've been washing that car everyday, you know it's beyond spotless by now." She approached him a slight smile. He tried to give it back but it came out crooked. 

"Hi Jean," he said. He leaned up against a dry part of the car and looked to the ground. 

"Scott," she said again. "I know you miss her. I miss her as well." 

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm just so worried Jean. The last time I talked to her was when she was angry at me for blaming Lance. I just wish I could tell her I'm sorry." 

"I totally understand Scott but there's nothing you can do except for wait," she explained. 

"I know Jean but it's already been a week!" He protested. He felt her surprise at the volume of his voice. 

"I'm sorry," he said. "It's just that I'm so afraid that we'll never get her back." Jean could tell his worry even through his ruby quartz sunglasses. She wrapped her hand around Scott's arm and he looked down at it. 

"Jean," he started. She put her finger on his mouth and then kissed him lightly on the lips. She wrapped her arms around him and he took her in. They kissed again more deeply and more passionately. They turned the kiss into a hug and Scott held her. 

"I just feel like I've lost my daughter," he said. Jean just held him tighter.   
  


Amara Aquilla, princess of Nova Roma, walked down the hall tossing a fireball humming to herself. She was still exhausted from her little mission a week ago. As she turned the corner, she ran into Ray Crisp and fell flat on her rear end. 

"Oh!" She exclaimed. Embarrassed, she extinguished the fireball and her cheeks flushed. 

"I'm sorry," Ray apologized. He picked her up and she rubbed her behind. 

"I've seem to have forgotten how much falling on your butt hurts," She chuckled. 

"I haven't, I always fall on my ass in the Danger Room," Ray said. They both laughed and Amara looked at Ray. Amara felt her insides getting into a knot. She wanted to ask him to go to a movie but she was afraid. 

"Um.." She started. "D-Do you want to g-go to a movie?" She mentally smacked herself in the head for acting like a fool. 

"Sure," said Ray. Amara smiled. 

"Um, do you want to see A Total Fraction? I've heard mixed reviews but if it's really that bad, we can both just make fun of it," Amara offered. 

"Yeah, sure, that sounds fun," Ray replied. "When?" 

"Oh, yeah, of course," She nervously laughed. "How about tonight at seven? Maybe we can catch some dinner beforehand." 

"Yeah, ok, that sounds like a date. See you then!" Ray smiled and walked off. Amara turned around and walked around the corner where she leaned up against the wall and let out a huge amount of air. She jumped up and let out a shriek of triumph. She ran down to the hall and started to knock on Kitty's door but then it hit her. Kitty was gone. The actuality of the news finally hit her hard. Amara knew that Kitty was gone but she never had feelings that she might not get her back. Amara was also angry at herself that she actually had a moment where she forgot she was gone. Amara leaned up against the wall and sank down to the ground and began to cry. Jamie Madrox happened to be walking down the hall and saw Amara. 

"Amara?" He said. "What's wrong?" He walked over to her and sat down. 

"Nothing," she said wiping her tears. "I just miss Kitty." Jamie nodded and then decided to say something. 

"Amara, I wanted to thank you for rescuing us," he said. 

"I didn't do anything except follow orders," she replied. 

"I know but you still were great, you were amazing. I admired it," he said. Amara couldn't help but smile. 

"Oh Jamie!" She said. She grabbed him and hugged him. "You're so cute!" She hugged to hard and then five other Jamies appeared before. 

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. 

Amara eventually left the spot where she was on the floor and told Ray that she wasn't in the mood to actually go out. He suggested a movie night and left to go get movies. 

"A movie night?" Kurt said, appearing out of nowhere. Amara nodded. 

"You can come if you want, Rogue too," said Amara. 

"Ok, it's a plan!" He said excited. He teleported away and Amara assumed he went to go tell Rogue. 

************ 

Lance Alvers walked into the brotherhood home, throwing the door open. He looked about, the place seemed the same disgusting mess. He sighed since he got used to living in the neat mansion. Kitty flashed through his mind and he sunk into a bad mood. He missed her deeply. The poor girl, and the damn X-men, he thought. He feelings toward the X-men weren't good since he blamed them for Kitty's capture. His thoughts were soon interrupted by a voice calling out his name. 

"Lance!" Todd shouted. The eager and toad-like mutant jumped down the stairs. He noticed Lance's solemn expression "What's wrong?" 

"Nothing," he spat. He pushed by the teen and placed his stuff on the couch. 

"No one else is home," said Todd. "They went somewhere and I wasn't invited as usual." 

"Oh," replied Lance. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the mutant. Lance turned around a looked at Todd. He looked like a little innocent puppy. 

"I admire you," Lance said. Todd gave Lance a quizzical look. 

"Why?" He said. 

"I don't know," he replied. "You never seem to let things bother you." Todd rolled his eyes. 

"I just tend not to show it," Todd said. "Ever since you left, it hasn't been that fun here. Wanda's become ever so mean. All she ever does is make fun of me and make me feel like shit." Todd kicked an unidentifiable particle on the carpet. 

"I'm sorry," Lance said. He mentally kicked himself at not saying anything better. 

"It's ok," he said. "Why did you come back here anyway?" 

"Long story," Lance told him. 

"I've got time," Todd said, a small, crooked smile emerging on his face. Lance sighed and told him the story about the New Mutants disappearing, the Black Manifesto, and Kitty's disappearance. It pained him to even think about losing Kitty. He saw the way she beat up on Ray. It wasn't her at all. He later learned, from Hank McCoy, that she was possessed. 

"...And so then I came back," said Lance. Todd simply nodded. 

"I'm sorry," he said. "Do you want to go out or something to get your mind off of things?" Lance thought about it for a little while. 

"Yeah I guess," he finally said. Todd jumped outside in excitement.   
  


Ray arrived back to the mansion with a bag full of movies. Amara, Rogue and Kurt sat on the stairs as he walked in. 

"Are you ready?" He asked, smiling at Amara. She giggled in response. The four mutants walked into the TV room and got comfortable. Amara put the movie in the VCR and curled up next to Ray. She was about to turn on the TV and press play when she was interrupted. 

"Oh wait!" Rogue, Ray, and Kurt said in unison. Amara looked at them in surprise as they did themselves. 

"I need to get the popcorn!" Ray stated. 

"I need a blanket," said Rogue 

"I need a bathroom," said Kurt. The three kids got up and went to their needs. Amara turned on the TV and the words Breaking News scrolled on the bottom of the TV screen as some reporter was talking. 

"Breaking News!" She stated. Duh, Amara thought to herself. She really didn't like the news station and began to focus her attention on something when something caught her eye. It was the image a black figure running around a building. The figure approached the spy camera and then it went to static. 

"And that's all that was on the tape," the reporter said. "Locals have said they have seen a mysterious figure showing up after crimes only to disappear. If you happen to see this mysterious figure, please contact the police as soon as possible. This Amelia Gold reporting live from Beaumont Jewelry." Something was odd about that mysterious figure. Amara's thoughts were soon gone when Rogue, Ray and Kurt came back. 

********** 

Todd and Lance rode around in his Jeep and Todd noticed that Lance was still down about the Kitty thing. He couldn't blame him, he absolutely loved the girl and to lose her was too painful to think about. Todd decided to turn on some music. He pressed the radio button and waited for Lance to object but he didn't. It was dark down and they drove down a street that was usually busy with people during the day. Something caught Todd's eyes up ahead. Lights were flashing crazily, like a crime scene. 

"What's going on up there?" Todd asked more for himself than Lance. 

"I have no idea," Lance said. "I think the road might be blocked off, I'm going to take Grayson drive." Grayson drive was parallel to the street they were driving on so Lance made a right and then a left and was on Grayson. This street was a lot darker than the street they just came from. Lance finally decided to turn his lights on. 

"You did it," said Todd. 

"Did what?" Lance asked. 

"Turned your lights on without one of us having to remind you." 

"Yeah w--" 

"JESUS! LANCE!" Todd's sudden shout cause Lance to look ahead. He was about four feet from a mysterious black figure. Lance shoved his foot down on the brake and the two kids both closed their eyes. Lance didn't feel anything hit the car and he opened his eyes just as the figure passed through Todd and the back of the car. He whipped around. Kitty? He thought to himself. He looked behind him and the figure was gone. 

"Todd?" He asked. There was no reply. He looked over at his passenger and saw that his eyes were wide open and he looked stunned. "Todd!" He called again. Todd didn't move but he was breathing. Not wanting to waste anymore time and concerned for his friends help, he drove to the only place that could help him.   
  


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A/N: Hey I decided to add some soft moments for everyone. You'll find out the explanation of Todd's condition in the next chapter. READ AND REVIEW.   
  


X-girl: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like the way I used Logan's past, I didn't know if anyone would like it.   
  
  
  
  
  



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